Method and device for separating materials

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a method for separating materials, in which a mixture of materials is guided through a channel in a direction of flow that extends at least approximately parallel to the gravitational field. By means of a wash fluid conveyed through the channel in a direction transverse to the direction of flow of the mixture of materials at least one material component of the mixture of materials that is to be separated is displaced from the mixture of materials and removed from the channel. Furthermore, the invention relates to a device that is particularly suitable for carrying out the said method.

[0001] The invention relates to a method for separating materialsaccording to the preamble of claim 1. The invention further relates to adevice for separating materials according to the preamble of claim 13.

[0002] A method and a device of the aforementioned type are known fromDE 100 38 932. In this known method the mixture of materials to beseparated is introduced into a vertically arranged channel and flowsthrough this channel whilst being influenced by the gravitational field.In the channel a plurality of guide members is arranged successively,which direct a flow of wash fluid that flows into the channel in theopposite direction to the direction of flow of the mixture of materials.As a result of this a displacement area is formed in the area of eachguide member, in which the wash fluid flows through the mass flow of themixture of materials whilst displacing thereby the material component ofthe mixture of materials to be separated and removing the latter fromthe channel at the end of the channel, at which the mixture of materialswas introduced into the channel. On account of the multitude of employedguide members which must be precisely aligned to each other andpositioned in the channel in order to generate the desired flow effectof the wash fluid in the channel the device used to carry out the methodhas a correspondingly complicated design.

[0003] The invention is based on the object to develop a method andrespectively a device for separating materials, with which or throughthe use of which an efficient separation of different materialcomponents from the mixture of materials is rendered possible in aparticularly simple way.

[0004] The object is solved in accordance with the invention by a methodhaving the features according to claim 1. The object is further solvedby a device in accordance with the invention having the featuresaccording to claim 13.

[0005] Advantageous further developments of the invention becomeapparent from the description, the drawing and the respective relatedsubclaims.

[0006] In the method according to the invention the mixture ofmaterials, in particular a mixture of materials consisting of solid andfluid components, is guided through the channel for sedimentation in adirection that is at least approximately parallel to the gravitationalfield.

[0007] The material components of the mixture of materials, which differfrom each other in their physical properties, in particular theirdensity and lift, are distributed in an approximately even fashion inthe fluid flow of the mixture of materials when seen in thecross-section of the flow. In order to improve the separation ofmaterials in this sedimentation process the wash fluid is conveyedthrough the channel in a direction transverse to the direction of flowof the mixture of materials, i.e. it is guided into the channel at suchan angle that the wash fluid flows through the channel and at leastpartially leaves the channel again in the lateral direction with respectto the fluid flow. By introducing the wash fluid transversely into thefluid flow it is achieved that the material components that aredistributed evenly in the mixture of materials due to the verticaldirection of flow are separated from each other on account of theirphysical properties, with the material component to be separated beingdisplaced by the wash fluid and removed from the channel while the othermaterial components are also flowed against by the transversely flowingwash fluid but not removed from the channel. As a result of the methodaccording to the invention to distribute single material componentsevenly in the fluid flow due to the vertical flow direction and toseparate these by means of the wash fluid directed into the fluid flowin a transverse direction a separation of materials is implemented in anelegant and especially effective way. The method in accordance with theinvention is particularly suitable for washing, adsorption ordesorption, ion exchange, heat exchange, depth filtration or also forthe extraction of such mixtures of materials. The method can be carriedout in a continuous or quasi-continuous fashion.

[0008] In a preferred method variant according to the invention it isproposed to guide the wash fluid into and/or out of the channel by guidemembers that limit the channel at least partially. With the guidemembers it is possible for the wash fluid to be introduced in a definedmanner into the fluid flow of the mixture of materials so as to achievethat the mixture of materials is flowed against and transversely flowedthrough by the wash fluid as desired.

[0009] When using the above-described guide members it is furthermoreadvantageous if, as seen in the direction of flow of the mixture ofmaterials, the guide members can be inclined with their flat sides suchthat particulate material components of the mixture of materials, suchas e.g. crystals, long-chained molecules and the like, that may depositon the guide members at least partially slide back into the passingmixture of materials on account of the angle of inclination of the guidemembers. Through the inclined position of the guide members it isachieved in particular that particulate material components which maydeposit on the guide members do not accumulate to such an extent thatthese particulate material components unintentionally pass over from thechannel and are removed from the latter by the wash fluid.

[0010] Instead of the guide members or also as a supplement to the guidemembers it is proposed in another method variant to convey the washfluid into and/or out of the channel through at least onefluid-permeable surface section that limits the channel at leastpartially. Especially suited as fluid-permeable surface section is afilter medium, for instance a membrane, a filter cloth or the like thathas the effect of a filter and is only fluid-permeable to the wash fluidand the material component to be separated by the wash fluid from themixture of materials.

[0011] In order to keep the amount of technical equipment required forthe material separation to a minimum it is suggested in a preferredembodiment of the method to convey the mixture of materials through thechannel by means of the effect of gravitation only.

[0012] Alternatively, it is also possible to convey the mixture ofmaterials through the channel by means of a conveying device, such as apump, whereby a higher rate of flow of the mixture of the materials canbe adjusted in the channel and an increased throughput is renderedpossible in the separation of materials. Furthermore, depending on themixture of materials to be separated it is possible to also convey themixture of materials through the channel in the opposite direction tothe gravitational force so that the effect of the gravitational forcesis opposed to the direction of flow of the mixture of materials, as aconsequence of which the separation of materials is improved further.

[0013] In addition, it is proposed in a preferred method variant togenerate in the mixture of materials an oscillating and/or intermittentmovement that overlaps the continuous flow of the mixture of materials,whereby a relative movement is generated especially between particulatematerial components of the mixture of materials, portions in-betweenparticles are altered or broken open and made accessible to being flowedthrough by the wash fluid. In addition, as a result of the overlappingmovement the formation of preferred flow paths in the fluid flow iscounteracted or prevented to a large extent. If the fluid flow of themixture of materials through the channel is circular or oval in flowcross-section it is furthermore proposed to generate in the mixture ofmaterials a rotatory movement that overlaps the continuous flow, wherebythe effects described before are additionally intensified in theirefficacy.

[0014] Since the transverse flow of the wash fluid into the channelexerts a corresponding pressure onto the mixture of materials flowing inthe longitudinal direction of the channel, as a consequence of which theflow behaviour of the mixture of materials in the channel is influencedand may be affected, it is furthermore advantageous to adjust the rateof flow of the wash fluid to the rate of flow of the mixture ofmaterials. For this purpose it is proposed to adjust the rate of flow ofthe wash fluid with respect to the rate of flow of the mixture ofmaterials such that the fluid flow of the mixture of materials throughthe channel is still maintained. In this it is particularly advantageousif the rate of flow of the wash fluid is adjusted such that a removal ofmaterial components from the channel that are to remain in the mixtureof materials is prevented at least in an approximately complete manner.

[0015] In this method variant it is suggested further to additionallyreduce the rate of flow as a function of the length of the channel whichthe mixture of materials has already flowed through, as the transverselyin-flowing wash fluid brings about a decrease in the rate of flow of themixture of materials. By selectively reducing the rate of flow of thewash fluid into the channel it is achieved that the mixture of materialsflowing through the channel is only decelerated in its rate of flow tosuch a degree that any differences in the rate of flow that occurbetween single channel sections and have an adverse effect on the flowbehaviour of the mixture of materials through the channel are avoided.

[0016] In a particularly preferred method variant according to theinvention the rate of flow of the wash fluid is adjusted by setting acorresponding aspect ratio between the surface flowed through by thewash fluid when entering the channel and the surface flowed through bythe wash fluid when leaving the channel. Here the aspect ratio at leastapproximately corresponds to the drop in pressure experienced by thewash fluid when flowing through the channel, whereby the rate of flow ofthe wash fluid which equally depends on the aspect ratio can beinfluenced at the same time.

[0017] To attain a particularly high efficiency of the separation ofmaterials it is furthermore advantageous to convey the wash fluidthrough the channel repeatedly, and with each renewed flowing throughthe channel the transverse direction of flow of the wash fluid maydiffer from the transverse direction of flow of at least one previouslygenerated transverse flow of the wash fluid through the channel. Sincethe mixture of materials is flowed through by the wash fluid repeatedlyat different locations and preferably at a differing transversedirection of flow, differences in concentration of the materialcomponents appearing within the fluid flow are being compensated whichresults in an improved removal of the material component to be separatedat a constant demand of wash fluid or in a constant removal of thematerial component to be separated at a reduced demand of wash fluid.

[0018] A further aspect of the invention is shown by the device forseparating materials defined in claim 13. With this device in accordancewith the invention the method set out above can be carried out and theadvantages resulting therefrom can be achieved.

[0019] The device according to the invention is particularlycharacterized in that the inlet portion and the outlet portion for thewash fluid are provided at the channel wall, with the inlet portion andthe outlet portion lying opposite each other in a direct or offsetmanner at least in sections when seen transversely to the longitudinaldirection of the channel. On account of the arrangement of the inletportion and the outlet portion according to the invention it is achievedthat the wash fluid can be guided through the channel in a directiontransverse to the direction of flow of the mixture of materials and inthis the rate of flow of the wash fluid can be adjusted for example by aselective adjustment of the pressure difference between the inletportion and the outlet portion.

[0020] In a preferred embodiment of the device the inlet portion and/orthe outlet portion include a plurality of guide members, with which theflow of the wash fluid can be selectively directed into and/or out ofthe channel.

[0021] In the direction of flow of the mixture of materials the guidemembers extend with their flat sides in an inclined fashion preferablyat a predetermined angle to the longitudinal direction of the channel.Through this it is achieved that the wash fluid flows into the channelat the predetermined angle and yet in the direction of flow of themixture of materials so that undesired turbulences of the fluid flow ofthe mixture of materials are avoided.

[0022] If the device according to the invention is also employed forseparating material mixtures that include particulate materialcomponents, it is furthermore advantageous if the predetermined angle,at which the guide members extend in an inclined fashion to thelongitudinal direction of the channel, corresponds to an angle of reposeof the concerned particulate material component of the mixture ofmaterials, at which a deposition of the particulate material componenton the guide members is prevented at least in an approximately completemanner. In this manner it is avoided that the particulate materialcomponents deposit on the guide members and are perhaps removed from thechannel by the wash fluid.

[0023] In order to be able to additionally change the rate of flow ofthe wash fluid and the direction of flow of the wash fluid it is alsoadvantageous if the distance of the guide members that are preferablyarranged parallel to each other and/or the predetermined angle at whichthe guide members extend in an inclined fashion to the longitudinaldirection of the channel can be adjusted variably.

[0024] To the end that the fluid flow of the mixture of materials has anoval or circular flow cross-section in the channel it is proposed in apreferred embodiment to design the channel at least in the inlet portionand/or the outlet portion in an oval or circular cross-sectional form.In this embodiment the guide members are designed in a ring-shaped orring-segment shaped fashion and arranged concentrically to the channelat least in sections.

[0025] Alternatively, it is suggested to provide the channel in theinlet portion and/or the outlet portion with a polygonal cross-sectionalform, with the guide members being strip-shaped in this form of thechannel.

[0026] To further influence the flow behaviour of the wash fluid in thechannel it is proposed in addition to design the guide members in acurved manner in the longitudinal direction of the channel, whereby thedevelopment of turbulences in the wash fluid is prevented.

[0027] Instead of the above-described guide members or also as asupplement to the guide members it is proposed to provide afluid-permeable surface section at the inlet portion and/or the outletportion, which can be flowed through by the wash fluid and, if required,also by the material component to be separated. This way it is possible,especially when the mixture of materials contains particulate materialcomponents, to selectively prevent a removal of the particulate materialcomponents from the fluid flow.

[0028] In order to influence the rate of flow of the wash fluid it issuggested to provide the surface of the inlet portion flowed through bythe wash fluid with a smaller dimension than the surface of the outletportion flowed through by the wash fluid, through which a reduction ofthe rate of flow of the wash fluid is obtained when crossing the channeland consequently the occurrence of undesired turbulences in the fluidflow of the mixture of materials is prevented.

[0029] If the wash fluid is intended to be used repeatedly forseparating materials it is furthermore advantageous if a plurality ofinlet portions and outlet portions is designed at the channel, with eachinlet portion having an outlet portion assigned thereto and, seen in thelongitudinal direction of the channel, an inlet portion with theassigned outlet portion each follows an inlet portion with the assignedoutlet portion and the respective following inlet portion is provided atthe channel wall lying opposite the previous inlet portion. Through thisit is achieved that the wash fluid flows through the channel, andconsequently through the fluid flow of the mixture of materials, in across-shaped manner at different channel sections, i.e. at transversedirections of flow that are opposed to each other, which results in aneven further improved removal of the material component to be separatedfrom the mixture of materials.

[0030] For a repeated flow-through with the same wash fluid it isfurthermore proposed to connect an outlet portion formed downstream withan inlet portion formed opposite the former upstream so that anadditional counterflow separation of material is realized.

[0031] In the following a further description is given of the inventionby means of preferred embodiments with reference to the drawing,wherein:

[0032]FIG. 1 shows a schematic sectional view of a first embodiment of adevice for separating materials during operation according to a firstmethod variant;

[0033]FIG. 2 shows a schematic sectional view of the device according toFIG. 1 during operation according to a second method variant;

[0034]FIG. 3 shows a schematic sectional view of a second embodiment ofa device for separating materials during operation according to a thirdmethod variant;

[0035]FIG. 4 shows a schematic sectional view of the device according toFIG. 3 during operation according to a fourth method variant and

[0036]FIG. 5 shows a schematic sectional view of a third embodiment of adevice for separating materials during operation according to a fifthmethod variant;

[0037]FIG. 1 is a strongly schematized representation of a sectionalview of a device 10 for separating materials. The device 10 has achannel 12 that extends in its longitudinal direction at leastapproximately parallel to the gravitational field of the earth. In theembodiment depicted here the channel 12 has a circular cross-section.One section of the channel 12 is constituted by a plurality of circularguide members 14 which are arranged successively at equidistance in thelongitudinal direction of the channel 12. The guide members 14 aredivided by separating metal sheets not shown here into a first portion16 illustrated on the left hand-side in FIG. 1 and a second portion 18illustrated on the right hand-side in FIG. 1.

[0038] The openings of the two portions 16 and 18 which are defined bythe guide members 14 are each connected to a fluid channel for a washfluid that is not depicted, and here the two fluid channels can beconstituted for example by a tube (not shown) arranged concentricallyaround the device 10 which is divided into two separate flow portionsjust as the portions 16 and 18.

[0039] If the device 10 is operated according to a first method variant,a mixture of materials 20 having a sediment-like character andcontaining at least one fluid material component besides at least oneparticulate material component 22 is guided into the channel 12, withthe rate of flow of the mixture of materials 20 through the channel 12being exclusively brought about by the gravitational force as indicatedby the arrows at the inlet and outlet side of the channel 12. By theterm fluid flow a sediment flow of the mixture of materials 20 is alsounderstood in this context

[0040] As can be seen in FIG. 1, the guide members 14 are arranged at anangle in an inclined fashion in the direction of flow of the mixture ofmaterials 20, and in this connection the effect of the inclinedarrangement will be explained hereinafter.

[0041] When the mixture of materials 20 flows through the channel 12 awash fluid 24 is introduced into the second portion 18 serving as inletportion in this method variant, which flows through the channel 12 in adirection transverse to the direction of flow of the mixture ofmaterials 20 and leaves the channel 12 at the first portion 16 servingas outlet portion, as indicated by the arrows. As wash fluid 24 a fluidis used whose density differs from the density of the particulatematerial component 22. In this manner at least one further materialcomponent of the mixture of materials 20, which is to be separated fromthe mixture of materials 20, can be displaced in the channel 12 by thewash fluid 24 and removed from the channel 12 through the first portion16.

[0042] On account of the transverse flow of the wash fluid 24particulate material components 22, which deposit on the inclined guidemembers 14, are also pulled along to some extent. However, the guidemembers 14 are arranged in an inclined fashion with respect to thelongitudinal direction of the channel such that their angle ofinclination at least approximately corresponds to the angle of repose ofthe particular material component 22, i.e. an angle at which, once aspecific quantity of deposited particles has been reached, the particlesof the particulate material component 22 on the guide member 14 start toslide and are pulled along again by the passing fluid flow of themixture of materials 20. As a result of the inclined position of theguide members 14 it is largely prevented on the one hand thatparticulate material components 22 are by mistake pulled along by thewash fluid 24 and removed from the channel 12 and on the other hand aspace is provided wherein material particles that were pulled along cansediment and be redirected.

[0043] In the above-described method variant the rate of flow of themixture of materials 20 is exclusively based on the gravitational force.In a modified method variant it is proposed further to additionallyoverlap the flow of the mixture of materials 20 by an oscillating,intermittent or pulsating and/or rotatory movement. Due to thisadditional speed component especially the particles of the particulatematerial component 22 experience at least temporarily a relativemovement towards each other, whereby portions in-between particles arealtered or broken open and made accessible to being flowed through bythe wash fluid 24. In addition, the formation of preferred flow paths ofthe mixture of materials 20 in the fluid flow is prevented completely orat least to a large extent.

[0044] In FIG. 2 the device 10 described before is shown when being usedin accordance with a second method variant according to the invention.To this end the device 10 is pivoted by 180° about the horizontal lineso that the circular guide members 14 point upwards with their innerbore whereas the outer edge of each guide member 14 points downwards. Inthis method variant the mixture of materials 20 is conveyed through thechannel 12 from below in the opposite direction to the gravitationalforce, and here the vertical movement can likewise be overlapped by anadditional oscillating, intermittent or rotatory movement. In addition,in this embodiment the wash fluid 24 is conveyed into the channel 12through the first portion 16 serving as inlet portion of the device 10and leaves the channel 12 through the second portion 18 serving asoutlet portion. In this case too the material component to be separatedis displaced from the mixture of materials 20 by the wash fluid 24 andremoved from the channel 12 through the second portion 18. Thisarrangement proves to be advantageous if the solid matter is lighterthan the fluid, as it is the case with ice crystals in water forinstance. The solid matter then deposits upwards.

[0045] In FIG. 3 a strongly schematic representation is given of asecond embodiment of a device 10 a for separating materials. In thissecond embodiment the device 10 a has a channel 12 a with anapproximately rectangular flow cross-section. At the side wall of thechannel 12 a shown on the left hand-side in FIG. 3 a rectangular opening13 a is formed into which the strip-shaped guide members 14a areinserted. Through an adjusting device not depicted here the guidemembers 14a can be adjusted in their angle of inclination with respectto the longitudinal direction of the channel 12 a. In addition, thedistance of the guide members 14 a extending parallel to each other canbe changed by means of the same adjusting device. Moreover, several ofthe guide members 14 a can be adjusted independently of the other guidemembers 14 a so that the cross-section of the opening 13 a can bechanged.

[0046] The channel wall arranged opposite the guide members 14 a isprovided with a fluid-permeable filter medium 15 a, for example amembrane, a filter cloth or the like. The opening 13 a constitutes thefirst portion 16 a of the channel 12 a which is connected to a fluidline for the wash fluid 24 not depicted here. The second portion 18 aconstituted by the filter medium 15 a is likewise connected to a fluidline for the wash fluid 24.

[0047] When operating the device 10 a according to a third methodvariant the mixture of materials 20 is guided through the channel 12 ain the vertical direction, and here the flow of the mixture of materials20 through the channel 12 a is exclusively brought about by thegravitational force. As soon as the mixture of materials 20 flowsthrough the channel 12 a, wash fluid 24 is guided through the firstportion 16 a serving as inlet portion, i.e. through the opening 13 ainto the channel 12 a, while the guide members 14 a predetermine thedirection of flow of the wash fluid 24. The wash fluid 24 flows throughthe channel 12 a in a direction transverse to the direction of flow ofthe mixture of materials 20 and leaves through the filter medium 15 athat constitutes the outlet portion, as indicated by the arrows. To thisend the filter medium 15 a is designed in such a manner that it isexclusively permeable to the wash fluid 24 and the at least one materialcomponent to be separated from the mixture of materials 20. As soon asthe wash fluid 24 enters the channel 12 a it displaces the materialcomponent to be separated from the mixture of materials 20 and removesit from the channel 12 a through the filter medium 15 a.

[0048] Due to the fact that the filter medium 15 a is only permeable tothe wash fluid 24 and the material component to be separated especiallythe particular material components 22 remain in the channel 12 a,whereby a particularly high efficiency is achieved during the separationof materials.

[0049] If the direction of flow of the wash fluid 24 is to be changed inthe channel 12 a or the rate of flow of the wash fluid 24 is to bereduced or increased, the guide members 14 a can be adjusted by means ofthe adjusting device both in their angle of inclination and in theirdistance to each other so that the device 10 a can be adjusted flexiblyto different mixtures of materials 20 with different physicalproperties.

[0050] In FIG. 4 the device 10 a is shown when being used according to afourth method variant. This fourth method variant only differs from themethod variant described with reference to FIG. 3 in that the wash fluid24 flows into the channel 12 a through the filter medium 15 a serving asinlet portion in this case and that it flows out through the opening 13a serving as outlet portion.

[0051] In FIG. 5 a third embodiment of a device 10 b for separatingmaterials is illustrated. This device 10 b basically corresponds to thedevice 10 described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, but in the case ofdevice 10 b there are two devices 10 arranged in succession that form ajoint channel 12 b. The device 10 b therefore has a first and a secondportion 16 b and 18 b with the guide members 14 b as well as a third anda fourth portion 26 b and 28 b with the guide members 30 b, with a pipesection 32 b being arranged between the guide members 14 b and 30 b.

[0052] In this method variant the mixture of materials 20 is likewiseconveyed through the channel 12 b as a result of the effect broughtabout by the gravitational force. At the same time wash fluid 24 isintroduced into the channel 12 b in the third portion 26 b shown on theleft hand-side at the bottom of FIG. 5, which wash fluid leaves thechannel 12 b again through the fourth portion 28 b while the materialcomponent to be separated from the mixture of materials 20 is removedfrom the channel 12 b. However, the wash fluid 24 that leaves the fourthportion 28 b is not drained off but conveyed to the second portion 18 bshown on the right hand-side at the top of FIG. 5, through which itflows into the channel 12 b whilst leaving the channel 12 b afterwardsthrough the first portion 16 b. As a result of this method variant thewash fluid 24 is guided repeatedly through the fluid flow of the mixtureof materials 20 and in doing so a counterflow of the wash fluid 24 isrealized, i.e. a flow that is opposed to the direction of flow of themixture of materials 20. In this manner several effects are achieved. Onthe one hand it is achieved by the different transverse directions offlow of the wash fluid 24 through the channel 12 b that differences inconcentration that may arise in the mixture of materials 20 on accountof the displacement of the material component to be separated arecompensated. On the other hand, influences on the flow behaviour of thefluid flow of the mixture of materials 20, which may develop on accountof the transverse flow of the wash fluid are compensated at least inpart.

[0053] The above-described devices and the above-described methodvariants are employed in particular for washing, adsorption ordesorption, ion exchange, heat exchange, depth filtration or also forextraction. Furthermore, especially mixtures of materials having asediment-like character are processed with the devices and methodsaccording to the invention, which predominantly contain particulatematerial components and yet have the flowable properties correspondingto those of fluids.

1. Method for separating materials, in which a mixture of materials (20)is guided through a channel (12) in a direction of flow extending atleast approximately parallel to the gravitational field and a wash fluid(24) is conveyed through the channel (12), which displaces from themixture of materials (20) and removes from the channel (12) at least onematerial component of the mixture of materials (20) that is to beseparated, characterized in that the wash fluid (24) is conveyed throughthe channel (12) in a direction transverse to the direction of flow ofthe mixture of materials (20).
 2. Method according to claim 1,characterized in that the wash fluid (24) is guided into and/or out ofthe channel (12) by guide members (14, 30) which limit the channel (12)at least partially.
 3. Method according to claim 2, characterized inthat seen in the direction of flow of the mixture of materials (20) theguide members (14, 30) are inclined with their flat sides in such amanner that particulate material components (22) of the mixture ofmaterials (20), which may deposit on the guide members (14, 30), atleast partially slide back into the mixture of materials (20) passingby.
 4. Method according to any one of claims 1, 2 or 3, characterized inthat the wash fluid (24) is conveyed into and/or out of the channel (12)through at least one fluid-permeable surface section, preferably througha filter medium (15), that limits the channel (12) at least partially.5. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in thatthe mixture of materials (20) flows through the channel (12) as a resultof gravitation.
 6. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 4,characterized in that if required the mixture of materials (20) is alsoconveyed through the channel (12) in the opposite direction to thegravitational force.
 7. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 6,characterized in that in the mixture of materials (20) an oscillating,intermittent and/or rotatory movement is generated that overlaps thecontinuous flow of the mixture of materials (20).
 8. Method according toany one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the rate of flow of thewash fluid (24) is adjusted with respect to the rate of flow of themixture of materials (20) such that the fluid flow of the mixture ofmaterials (20) through the channel (12) is still maintained and aremoval of the material component or components from the channel (12),which is or are to remain in the mixture of materials (20), ispreferably prevented at least in an approximately complete manner. 9.Method according to claim 8, characterized in that the rate of flow ofthe wash fluid (24) is reduced as a function of the length of thechannel (12) which the mixture of materials (20) has already flowedthrough.
 10. Method according to any one of the preceding claims,characterized in that the rate of flow of the wash fluid (24) throughthe channel (12) is adjusted according to the aspect ratio between thesurface (16, 18) flowed through by the wash fluid (24) when entering thechannel (12) and the surface (16, 18) flowed through by the wash fluid(24) when leaving the channel (12).
 11. Method according to any one ofthe preceding claims, characterized in that the wash fluid (24) isconveyed through the channel (12) repeatedly and with each renewedflowing through the channel (12) the transverse direction of flow of thewash fluid (24) preferably differs from the transverse direction of flowof at least one previously generated transverse flow of the wash fluid(24) through the channel (12), particularly preferred at least from thetransverse direction of flow of the transverse flow generatedimmediately beforehand.
 12. Method according to any one of the precedingclaims, characterized in that in the channel (12) a fluid flow of themixture of materials (20) is generated, which is polygonal, circular oroval in flow cross-section.
 13. Device for separating materials, inparticular for carrying out the method according to any one of thepreceding claims 1 to 12, comprising at least a channel (12) for guidingthrough a mixture of materials (20) to be separated, which includes atleast one inlet portion (16, 18) and at least one outlet portion (18,16) for a wash fluid (24) in order to displace from the channel (12) amaterial component to be separated from the mixture of materials (20),characterized in that the inlet portion and the outlet portion areprovided at the channel wall and seen transversely to the longitudinaldirection of the channel (12) the inlet portion (16, 18) and the outletportion (18, 16) lie opposite each other in a direct or offset manner atleast in sections.
 14. Device according to claim 13, characterized inthat the inlet portion (16, 18) and/or the outlet portion (18, 16)include a plurality of guide members for guiding the flow of the washfluid into and/or out of the channel (12), which are preferably arrangedat least approximately parallel at a distance to each other.
 15. Deviceaccording to claim 14, characterized in that in the direction of flow ofthe mixture of materials (20) the guide members (14) extend in aninclined fashion with their flat sides at a predetermined angle to thelongitudinal direction of the channel (12) and the predetermined anglepreferably corresponds to an angle of repose of a particulate materialcomponent (22) of the mixture of materials (20), at which a depositionof the particulate material components (22) on the guide members (14) isprevented at least in an approximately complete manner.
 16. Deviceaccording to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that the distance betweenthe guide members (14) and/or the predetermined angle of at least one ofthe guide members (14) can be adjusted variably.
 17. Device according toclaim 14, 15 or 16 characterized in that the channel (12) has an oval orcircular cross-sectional form at least in the inlet portion (16, 18)and/or in the outlet portion (18, 16) and the guide members (14) aredesigned in a ring-shaped or ring segment-shaped fashion and arrangedconcentrically to the channel (12) at least in sections.
 18. Deviceaccording to claim 14, 15 or 16 characterized in that the channel (12)has a polygonal cross-sectional form at least in the inlet portion. (16,18) and/or in the outlet portion (18, 16) and the guide members (14) arestrip-shaped.
 19. Device according to any one of claims 14 to 18,characterized in that seen in the longitudinal direction of the channel(12) the guide members (14) are curved.
 20. Device according to any oneof claims 13 to 19, characterized in that at the inlet portion (16, 18)and/or at the outlet portion (18, 16) at least one fluid-permeablesurface section, preferably a filter medium (15), is provided which canbe flowed through by the wash fluid (24) and, if required, also by thematerial component to be separated.
 21. Device according to any one ofclaims 13 to 20, characterized in that the surface of the inlet portion(16, 18) that is flowed through by the wash fluid (24) is smaller thanthe surface of the outlet portion (18, 16) that is flowed through by thewash fluid (24).
 22. Device according to any one of claims 13 to 21,characterized in that a plurality of inlet portions (26, 18) and outletportions (28, 16) is designed at the channel (12), with each inletportion (26, 18) having an outlet portion (28, 16) assigned thereto andseen in the longitudinal direction of the channel an inlet portion (18)with the assigned outlet portion (16) each follows an inlet portion (26)with the assigned outlet portion (28), with the respective followinginlet portion (26) being provided at the channel wall lying opposite theprevious inlet portion (18).
 23. Device according to claim 22,characterized in that seen in the direction of flow of the mixture ofmaterials (20) the outlet portion (28) arranged downstream is in flowconnection with the inlet portion (18) arranged opposite the latterdirectly upstream.